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Final: [2] Peter Barker (Eng) bt [6] Raj Nanda (Aus)       11/6, 11/1, 11/4 (22m)   BARKER BAGS COLOMBIAN CROWN...   Hot on the heels of his success last week in Sao Paulo, England's Peter Barker claimed another PSA title with a straight games win over Raj Nanda in the final in Bogota ... report and photos to follow ... I beat Joey last night in a very tough game. I went 2-1 down to eventually win 13-11 in the fifth. I gave it my all and fortunately came on just on top. Today, Raj and I had an early start with the final being played at noon. With rest being limited, we were both tired from the week. We both knew the first game would be crucial and after a tough one, which I sneaked, I managed to win three nil. I am absolutely shattered, its been a tough week and I'm thankful it has finally come to an end. The tournament has been superbly run and it's been a pleasure to play in front of such a welcoming crowd. Hope to be back soon. Speak to you soon, best regards, Peter Barker

06-Aug, Semi-Finals:

[6] Raj Nanda (Aus) bt [Q] Bernardo Samper (Col)
     7/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/8, 11/10(2-0)

[2] Peter Barker (Eng) bt [3] Joey Barrington (Eng)
     11/8, 10/11(4-6), 7/11, 11/6, 11/10(3-1)

Nanda ends Samper run,
Barker wins Nailbiter ...

Report from Juan Carlos Santacruz,
translation by Andrés Vargas

After two exceptional and tough matches, Australian Raj Nanda and Englishman Peter Barker managed to enter the VII Colombian Open Final.

Two extended matches, which demonstrated all the different ways of playing this game. Different strategies, behaviours and all you could probably imagine in a squash court, was seen tonight in El Nogal.

Nanda imposes his game

The first match took place in court six of El Nogal. Bernardo Samper versus Raj Nanda. The place was crowded and everyone had an optimistic attitude about the match. Samper began dominating the first game, volleying, and surprising Nanda with his drop shots from the back of the court to win the first game. 1-0 to the local player, and the crowd was getting excited about his chance of reaching the final.

The second game was probably the crucial game. It was a super tight game which lead to a tie break, which Nanda took advantage of to win it. 1-1.

During the third game, Samper started showing his exhaustion, which had been accumulated from five matches to reach the semi-final. He came all the way from the qualifying competition, and had played 190 minutes during this tourney, while Nanda had only 106 minutes. This would be an advantage for Nanda later on.

The Colombian started making mistakes, and also he couldn't play with the strategy he had been relying on, for his legs didn't respond. Nanda took the lead. 2-1.

In the fourth game, Nanda was totally dominant. 5-0 in three minutes. It was then when Samper decided to give it all, and began to use another tactic. He played a more intelligent game, playing lobs, cross-courts, which managed to put the score to 10-10. But then came the worst. Samper had a clear stroke for him, and he didn't know how to make the best of it. He didn't stop the rally and kept playing, Nanda finally took a risky shot and won the match.

The Australian defeated both Colombians, Rodriguez and Samper, but one thing is clear after this match, these Colombians have the skills to be among the world's top 50.

English battle on
Colombian ground

Then came the "never-ending" match between Englishmen Peter Barker and Joey Barrington. It was the chance for Barrington to have his revenge from the Sao Paulo final, but after 87 minutes of long rallies, and lots of lets, the match was decided by a tie break in the last game in favour of Barker.

First game. Barker won this game with no problem, and took advantage of the match and his opponent.

Second Game. This is where the match takes a turn. Many calls from the referee, and a whole bunch of interference between the two players made this match an exciting one. Barker was getting upset with the referee's calls and even broke his racquet at the end of the second game. Barker was leading 10-5, but Barrington kept his concentration and won the game, after several lets, no lets and strokes.

Third Game. Barker seemed mentally weak and unfocused,  something Barrington knew how to handle. Barrington won the third game with no problem.

Fourth Game. Once again, Barker entered the court with a strategy of playing a more risky game, trying dead nicks from the back of the court, with much success. 2-2.

Decisive Game. Both of them started taking risks, more so than in any of the previous games. Tie Break, both of them had a match-ball. But it was Barker who took a shot, dropped from the left and concluded the battle.

Juan Carlos Santacruz

05-Aug, Quarter-Finals:

[6] Raj Nanda (Aus) bt Miguel Rodríguez(Col)
   11/7, 5/11, 11/3, 11/9 (64m)
[Q] Bernardo Samper (Col) bt [4] Liam Kenny (Irl)
    7/11, 11/3, 2/11, 11/3, 11/7 (58m)
[3] Joey Barrington (Eng) bt [5] Matthew Giuffre (Can)
      11/8, 11/4, 4/0 rtd
[2] Peter Barker (Eng) bt [7] Eric Galvez (Mex)
     11/10(2-0), 7/11, 11/10(3-1), 11/4 (64m)

Samper Surprises in
Colombian Quarters
Report from Juan Carlos Santacruz,
translation by Andrés Vargas

A night full of drama decided who will be playing the semi finals in the Colombian Open. Colombian Bernardo Samper, Australian Raj Nanda, English Joey Barrington and countryman Peter Barker will be playing tomorrow to claim one of the two tickets into the final.

Tonight's first round was absolutely emotive. Two national idols were about to play at the same time on courts 5 and 6, Samper against Liam Kenny, and Miguel Rodriguez versus Raj Nanda. The entire place was jam-packed of people and one could barely see what was going on. Still, people clapped even though they couldn't see what was happening. It was unbelievable.

COLOMBIAN CONTRASTS...

The matches seemed to have something in common, the Colombians both yielding the first game. The Irishman's technique and Nanda's patience overcame both Rodriguez and Sampers' strategies.

During the second game, the situation changed. Both Colombians began playing a more Latin game. They were surprising and took very risky shots, which turned out to be killer attempts. So, with this scheme, they managed to set up the scores 1-1.

During the third game, the situation was still alike for both matches, even with similar scores. Kenny, who is considered the most technical player in the tournament, started playing a game with no mistakes, hitting the ball to the back of the court, keeping Samper under pressure. As for Nanda, he played a very wise game. He wasn't taking risks at all, he was just hitting the ball, giving it good length and reaching every single ball with his protracted extensive legs. At the end of the third game, both locals were 2-1 down.

And it was at this time that the matches took a different course…

Samper returned to the court totally focused, and even though the Irishman, no 1 of his country, no 45 of the world and seeded fourth in the competition, kept playing with his technical strategy, taking the ball to the back of the court, but it  wasn't enough to defeat the Colombian attitude. Samper was playing an incredibly smart game. Shooting drops close to the tin, and unexpected cross courts, was all he needed to set a 2-2. In the last game, "Nano", as the audience calls him, continued his unforeseen game and defeated Kenny. Great match, outstanding level.

Meanwhile, on court 6, the fourth game was still playing. Nanda kept his plan, patience and calm, while Rodriguez played a rapid and swift game. It was a long and tight game, which left the viewers breathless.

Nanda was leading 9-8, and then came a rally which lasted 5 minutes 45 seconds. The Australian kept his pace and patience, hitting the ball with good length, mostly to the left part of the court. Rodriguez decided to change the pace of the game and with no disgrace it simply didn't work out.

After almost 6 minutes he hit the tin. Match Ball for the Australian, but the Colombian never gave up. He played the game and after an exciting rally, Rodriguez got a stroke. 10-9. But Nanda didn't hesitate and finished the match after a long period of 65 minutes.

One won, one lost. The local audience was still satisfied by the results of those astonishing matches.

Official site from Colombia
   En Français

IT WAS A JOKE... No, in Sao Paulo, Joey didn't mean that ALL Egyptian players block when playing.... He just finished a match, and in the heat of the moment, he made a joke, tongue in cheek as he explained to me later. But reading his quote again, he realised that it could be misinterpreted. "Yes, the player did block me a few times, but I played a lot of other Egyptian players, and they have been absolutely fine. Please, could you put up an apology from me about the generic Eygptian comment on the blocking." So there you go...

Sam Miller from Bogota ... Results from today: Raj Nanda is in the final, beating Samper 3-1. He played very well, slowing the game down just enough to create the openings. Samper has had a tough few days and I think the games have finally started to take their toll; eventually! Pete beat Joey again, but this time a much different match. 1 hour and 50 mins and Pete wins 3-2, 13-11 in the fifth. It was full of lets as both players were eager to dominate the tee. Pete had 10-5 to go 2-0 up but let it slip, Joey then moving in to a 2-1 lead. It could have been anyone's; Joey had 10-8 match ball but couldn't quite find the finish. Neither player deserved to lose .... a great show piece for Club Nolgal! Have a good day, Sam.

QUOTES... It was brought to our attention that some of the players would like to send us results, quotes, little reports, but that they are not sure how to proceed. Well, it's really simple. You send us a little email, with whatever you feel appropriate, and let us know if you want us to publish it as such, or if you want us to edit-amend it. We will make sure that we publish what you wish... As long as, of course, we feel that the contents are appropriate and not detrimental... So you see, very simple. You write to us, let us know how you want us to handle your words, and zooom, smile, you're on SquashSite ... Framboise

Hi Fram, Again there was another upset, the inspired Bernardo beat Liam 3-2 in a closely contested match. I keep thinking he is going to run out of steam but he just keeps winning. He has Raj today, another tough one. Raj beat Miguel last night 3-1, having spoken to Raj after his match, he said 110% was given so Miguel was obviously not content with just beating the defending champion. Joey had a comfortable win over a slightly under the weather Matt and we are due to play this afternoon. It was a tough match for me against Eric last night, he never gave up and I was relieved to win in 4. Not in a hurry to play him again, especially up here in the mountains! Peter Barker

Barker in no hurry to
meet Galvez again ...

ENGLISH ADVANCE...

In the second set of matches, Joey Barrington was the first one to gain an entry to the semi finals. Canadian Matthew Guiffre couldn't keep the Englishman's pace and he was defeated in three games, losing out to Barrington's more consistent and tactical game. But the Canadian retired in the middle of the third game, when he felt some kind of indigestion.

Finally, the last match of the evening. Mexican Eric Galvez against the English Peter Barker. Barker had won 8 days ago in Sao Paulo, so he was confident and positive about himself.

Galvez's swiftness and velocity wasn't enough to overcome Barker's tactics, who after long games, defeated the only Mexican left with by three games to one.
 

 7/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/8, 11/10(2-0)

Bernardo Samper

11/6, 11/1, 11/4 (22m)
 

Qualifying
     
Finals:
  Dylan Bennett (Ned) v Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)        11/9, 4/11, 6/11, 11/5, 11/6 (51m)
  Bernardo Samper (Col) v Jose Becerril (Mex)          11/5, 11/5, 11/5 (22m)
  Ahmed Hassaan (Egy) bt Amr Ramzy Swelim (Egy)  11/8, 11/8, 8/11, 9/11, 11/9 (60m)
  Sam Miller (Eng) v Robertino Pezzota (Arg)              11/7, 7/11, 9/11, 11/6 ,11/3 (60m)

Round Two:
  Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Juan D. Torres (Col)         11/5, 11/5, 11/9 (20m)
  Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt Sabir Butt (Can)          9/11, 11/9, 11/3, 11/4 (55m)
  Jose Becerril (Mex) bt Rodrigo Torres (Col)           11/10(3-1), 11/9, 5/11, 3/11, 11/9 (40m)
  Bernardo Samper (Col) bt Dylan Patterson (Usa)   11/2, 11/5, 11/2 (21m)
  Ahmed Hassaan (Egy) bt Andre Aschker (Ger)       11/3, 11/10(10-8), 11/7 (45)
  Amr Ramzy Swelim (Egy) bt Fabien Verseille (Fra)  11/1, 11/3, 7/11, 11/1 (30m)
  Robertino Pezzota (Arg) bt  Tom Richards (Eng)      11/10(2-0), 11/5, 11/8 (30m)
  Sam Miller (Eng) bt Yann Perrin (Fra)                     8/11, 11/5, 11/10(2-0), 11/5(51m)

Round One, 02-Aug:
  Dylan Bennett (Ned) – bye
  Juan D. Torres (Col) bt Armando Olguin (Mex)  11/7, 11/6, 11/3 (40m)
  Sabir Butt (Can) - Bye
  Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt Federico Torres (Col)  10/11(0-2),11/8,10/11(0-2),11/5,11/9 (74m)
  Jose Becerril (Mex) – Bye
  Rodrigo Torres (Col) bt Hernán Marino (Ven)    11/10(4-2), 11/7, 11/2 (30m)
  Dylan Patterson (Usa) - Bye
  Bernardo Samper (Col) bt Darren Lewis (Eng)    11/9, 11/3, 11/9 (38m)
  Andre Aschker (Ger) – Bye
  Ahmed Hassaan (Egy) - Bye
  Fabien Verseille (Fra) bt Arturo Jaramillo (Col)   11/8, 5/11, 7/11, 11/3, 11/5 (50m)
  Amr Ramzy Swelim (Egy) - Bye
  Robertino Pezzota (Arg) - Ernesto Lucena (Col)    11/4, 11/8, 11/6 (40m)
  Tom Richards (Eng) - Bye
  Yann Perrin (Fra) bt Gabriel Fernandez (Col)    11/5, 11/8, 11/4 (30m)
  Sam Miller (ENG) - Bye
 

05-Aug, Round One:
 
Colombians delight in Bogota
as Renan relinquishes title ...
 
Local favourites Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Bernardo Samper delighted the home fans in Bogota as they made unexpected progress into the Colombian Open quarter-finals.

Samper, who battled through the 32-man qualifying draw, beat eighth seed Jan Koukal, while 19-year-old Rodriguez, a wild card entry, stunned top seed and defending champion Renan Lavigne in the first round.

Framboise found out what happened to Renan ...
 
Hi Framboise

To reply to your two questions ...

1. What happened?

I lost my way from the start, as I had put myself under a lot of pressure for this tournament, as a lot of points were up for the taking. As a result, I was ultra-stressed during the whole match, my legs didn't seem to respond anymore, I was slow and heavy, I looked like an elephant, but yet again, a 66 kilo elephant is unheard of... Stress seemed to annihilate me, I was making error upon error, my drop shots were up around the service line, and I basically couldn't adapt.

How is it possible to be on the circuit for so long, and to be unable to react to that kind of stress situation? I just don't know, and I think that's where the problem lies, a problem that I don't think I'm able to solve on my own anymore. If somebody out there could help me or put me on the right track, I'm all ears! Three years ago, I did work with a mental coach, but after 6 months, I was under the impression he was offering me the same answers over and over again. So I ended the relationship.

I think that mental problems have now become enormous, and that I'm not able to get rid of the pressure and to express myself fully on the court. As far as squash and fitness are concerned my summer preparation has been good. I'm on my way to resume it, after taking a few days away from squash, to try to recover from the disappointment. I was the Champion of the tournament for two years running, I love the city, the club, the people, and it's heartbreaking to already be at the airport to catch my flight back to Paris.

Miguel played very well, he was in a zone, supported, carried out by his crowd, a perfectly fair one, I must stress, and he was able to capitalise on my nervousness. A "normal" Renan wouldn't have had any problem, but "yesterday's" Renan didn't react, despite the advice and support of my three compatriots Yann Perrin, Mathieu Castagnet and Fabien Verseille between games.

2. Are you injured?

In my head, yes, that's for sure. I have to have a good think about myself. For the rest, I did twist my ankle at 6/6 in the second. But it really didn't prevent me from playing during the match, although I can feel soreness in the tendons today.

All that's to say that I'm not in the best of spirits as I'm about to embark on the plane. And by the way, got to run, they are calling for my flight...

Renan

Hi Fram, The first round matches have just started, all going to seeding. Joey, Eric and I won in 3 games while Matt Guiffre needed 4 to beat Tim Manning, was nip and tuck all the way. The other 4 matches take place tonight, should be a good evening with plenty of local support for Miguel and Bernardo. The club is fantastic, hotel is nice too, think all the boys are enjoying the spectacular scenery. Peter Barker

 

Samper sails into
Colombian Draw   Qualifying Results

Local favourite Bernardo Samper moved into the main draw of the Colombian Open in Bogota, the only one of four qualifiers to enjoy three straight 3/0 victories in the 32-man qualifying draw. Samper faces eighth-seeded Czech Jan Koukal in the first round.

Also through to the main draw are England's Sam Miller, Dutchman Dylan Bennett, and Egypt's Ahmed Hassaan

Preview:
Colombian Open Back

Back on the PSA circuit after a two-year absence, the Colombian Open returns as a $20k event at the Club El Nogo in Bogota.

Top seed is France's Renan Lavigne, with English duo Peter Barker and Joey Barrington at two and three.

Lavigne, champion in the last two events in 2001 and 2002, leads a French contingent with Mathieu Castagnet, Fabien Verseille and Yann Perrin just starting out on their PSA careers.

The English party, fresh from Sao Paulo, includes second and third seeds Peter Barker and Joey Barrington.